What's It All About, Pat Metheny's forthcoming sequel to his first solo baritone-guitar effort, One Quiet Night, features classic tunes from songwriters like Paul Simon, Lennon & McCartney, Burt Bacharach, and Henry Mancini. "With What's It All About," says All About Jazz, "Metheny's ability to think outside the box never comes at the expense of losing sight of it, making music that's easy and accessible, but with deeper layers simmering just beneath its calm surface." In a new video posted here, Metheny introduces the new album by performing a number of tracks and discussing the album's inspiration.

Jamm, Senegalese musician Cheikh Lô’s first album in five years, is out now in North America. Upon its European release last year, Uncut called it the “African album of the year,” and the Guardian said, “Cheikh Lô is back with an album that reconfirms his position as one of the finest, one of the most soulful singers in West Africa.” In a four-star review, Q called it “true global music to make anyone feel better.”

k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang brought their UK tour to a close with a performance at Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow, Scotland, last night. The tour included two shows at London's Royal Festival Hall, to which the Guardian gives four stars. "lang is a beaming and ebullient figure tonight," says the Guardian. "k.d. lang's mojo has clearly been firmly relocated." The Evening Standard says "she's discovered how to have a ball, without sacrificing the passion that underpins her work ... How could anyone not fall a little in love?"

Timothy Andres will appear on today's episode of The New Canon on Q2, the online stream from New York's WQXR dedicated to new music, along with fellow composer/performer Gabriel Kahane, to discuss the blurring line between classical and pop musics. The show will also include recordings of their music, as well as that of Sufjan Stevens and Chris Thile. Andres will perform a solo concert at Brooklyn's Bargemusic on Thursday.

Chris Thile and Michael Daves have just been added to the line-up of the 2011 Newport Folk Festival, taking place July 30 and 31 at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island. They join three fellow Nonesuch artists on the lineup, all performing on Sunday: Emmylou Harris, Carolina Chocolate Drops, and Wanda Jackson. In addition, The Low Anthem co-hosts a backstage hootenanny Saturday night to benefit the Newport Festivals Foundation.

k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang kicked off their UK tour with a performance in Birmingham to which the Times of London gives four stars, describing "lang's gorgeous voice" as "a versatile weapon of mass seduction." The tour hits London tonight for the first of two nights at the Royal Festival Hall. The North American tour begins in two weeks. lang recently spoke with the Huffington Post about her new album, Sing it Loud, to which Canada's StarPhoenix gives five stars, calling it "a winning amalgam of lang's many, many musical influences."

Shawn Colvin, who is currently on tour, recently appeared on an episode of HBO's Treme. On the show, from David Simon, creator of The Wire, Colvin performs her song "I'm Gone," off her 2006 Nonesuch debut album, These Four Walls, with violinist Lucia Micarelli, who plays Annie on the series. You can watch some of their performance and see Colvin and Micarelli discuss how it all fits into the series in a video here.

The Metropolitan Opera's premiere production of John Adams's Nixon in China, conducted by the composer and staged by director Peter Sellars in their Met debuts, airs on PBS tonight at 9 PM ET, as part of THIRTEEN's Great Performances at the Met series. To coincide with the Met premiere of Nixon in China, Nonesuch Records reissued the Grammy-winning original cast recording in a newly redesigned three-CD set, available now.

The Fourth Annual World Science Fair gets under way in New York City today. Pat Metheny will join the proceedings Saturday night for Music and the Spark of Spontaneity, a performance and panel discussion, moderated by WNYC's John Schaefer, examining what goes on inside the brain as music is being created. The event offers a live tour of Metheny's masterful musical mind at work as he performs and engages in discussion with leading scientist/musicians.

John Adams's new album, featuring his Son of Chamber Symphony and String Quartet, is out today. The first piece, deemed "dangerously exhilarating" by the Financial Times, is performed on the album by the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), led by the composer. The second, which the Philadelphia Inquirer calls "a knockout," is performed by the St. Lawrence String Quartet. Audiophile Audition gives the album a perfect five stars: "This is a magnificent addition to the Adams’ discography that will win him new fans. The performance and recording are exemplary, a real feast for the ears and your stereo system."

Randy Newman played two shows at the Arizona Biltmore this weekend, performing songs from throughout his career, including his latest album, Songbook Vol. 2. "Newman isn't just a songwriter, he's an entertainer," says the Phoenix New Times. "He knows how to tug the heartstrings, knows when to crack a smile, and knows that satire is often the best way to drive a point home." Newman discussed the new album with the Huffington Post, which calls it "wonderful," and with the A.V. Club, which cites his "penchant for deft, multivalent satire." The Irish Times gives the album five stars.